There are many picture frames on the market which allow for a collage of pictures. Typically these frames include a mat with multiple apertures for displaying a specific number of photographs. These frames are inflexible because they have a predetermined number and arrangement of pictures. Pictures cannot be easily added or deleted from the arrangement. If, for example, a new child or grandchild is added to the family, a picture must be removed from the frame to include the new child, or a new frame is started that has only one or two pictures in it.
Another alternative is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,319,419 granted to Traill. Traill shows a support member which is attached to the wall and from which pictures are hung. The support member has four connectors along its bottom edge which allows the photos to be hung in one or two columns. This allows only a limited arrangement of the photos. The most creative arrangement shown by Traill is an inverted pyramid of three picture frames with two frames attached directly to the support member and one below bridging the two columns to form an intermediate column. There is no allowance for lateral expansion of the arrangement pattern.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,432,152 to Daenen and 4,912,863 to Harvey show a modular frame which may be connected to other frames. However, these frames require a connecting bar to run along behind the connected frames. This adds another piece which may be lost or misplaced during the time before a picture is added. These methods are complicated and require some concerted effort to attach the pictures to one another. Each of the connectors in these systems are relatively complicated, thereby adding to the cost to the system. Additionally, when these systems are put together they look like what they are, a set of individual frames which have been attached. Gluing two ordinary frames together would have the same visual effect.